11th DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL candidates Tricia Pridemore of Marietta and Bob Barr of Smyrna have plenty of reason to pleased, if the latest round of campaign financial disclosure forms are any indication.

Those reports show Pridemore with the biggest campaign war chest of any of the four major candidates, with $188,535 cash on hand as of the Sept. 30 end of the quarterly reporting period. That amount included a $50,000 loan to her campaign from the candidate.

State House Minority Whip Ed Lindsey of Buckhead had the second-most cash on hand, $161,673, including $35,000 in loans to his campaign from himself.

Barr reported $101,057 cash on hand and former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk of Cassville had $64,122.

But contributions to Barr during the period outpaced those to the others.

The four Republicans are running in next year’s party primary for the nomination to succeed Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta), who is running instead for U.S. Senate. No Democrats have yet announced for the congressional seat. The district includes most of west and north Cobb, Buckhead and Sandy Springs, and Bartow and Cherokee counties.

WELLSTAR HEALTH SYSTEM’s Reynold Jennings has been named CEO of the Year by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals. He was honored for helping WellStar establish a 24/7neurosurgery team, win approval as a Level II Trauma Center, set up an award-winning 39-week elective delivery initiative for expectant mothers and new imaging technology that reduces radiation exposure. Jennings also has played a lead role in the development of the Center for Health Transformation, a multi-hospital, multi-state collaborative for creating and sharing best practices in health care.

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GEORGIA Attorney General Sam Olens will headline a fundraiser for State Court Clerk Angie Davis and Chief Deputy Robin Bishop from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at The Whitlock Inn. Co-chairs include District Attorney Vic Reynolds, Sheriff Neil Warren, and state Sen. Lindsey Tippins.

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THIS WEEK’S film shoot around Marietta Square in connection with the Jim Carry/Jeff Daniels flick “Dumb and Dumber To” caused Cobb Superior Court Judge Rob Leonard to have to give some unusual instructions to the jury in the murder trial he was conducting.

“Today I had to add an unusual instruction to my jury on a murder case as I released them for lunch,” he wrote on Facebook. “‘Ladies and gentlemen, don’t be alarmed if you see someone on a building with a sniper rifle aiming down at the Square, it’s for a movie scene.’ Hopefully that’s my last sniper-related cautionary instruction.”

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COBB Superior Court Judge Mary Staley has been sporting a new look the past few weeks at the courthouse — a black-and-blue one. She has been holding forth on the bench while proudly sporting a “shiner” around her left eye. And hidden by her judicial robe are is a series of bruises from left hip to left foot, all courtesy of a nasty fall in Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park a couple of weeks back.

Staley and friend Rosemary Martin were walking their dogs down a steep hill when Staley’s dog, Sampson, jerked her forward and completely off her feet. She banged her face hard against a tree root as she landed.

“I literally went airborne,” she told Around Town. “That part was pretty neat. But the landing wasn’t.”

Breaking News... All Four of the top leading funding raising Republican Congressinal Candiates in Cobb County were shock to find a IOU note attached to their campaign reports that said..

" Greeting Great American Patriots! Attached is a IOU Promissary Note in the Amount of 3 Million USA Dollars or payable in Gold Coin to the Winner of the Republican Primary for Congress in your Distict..You may redeemed after Feb 7,2014 if the debt limited is raise again to save the Republic from the forces of Evil and the Communist Party. However, If you chose not to raise or vote for the debt limit to be raise, this note will be cancel and given to a Charity such as GreenPeace or Some Wild Eye Animal Rights Groups who seek to bring Peace and Love to Humanity by reducing the World Population to less than 300 million Humans."

Yours Truly, Your Friends at the NSA,

ps.. The reason for the note is that it was issue before the Govenment Shut Down 2 weeks ago..Good luck and remember We got our Eyes on you and your I-Pod Phone!!!"

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